There Has Been A Colossal Shift In American Culture Values Since 2001

The United States is becoming a place where “anything goes”, and most Americans are okay with that. No matter which side of the “culture war” that you are on, you have to admit that our culture is being fundamentally transformed. In fact, new numbers from Gallup confirm that there has been a colossal shift in America’s moral values just since 2001. Over the past 13 years, we have become a dramatically different country. Many of the things that used to be considered “evil” are now considered to be “good”, and many of the things that used to be considered “good” are now considered to be “evil”. In other words, our culture is literally being turned upside down, and the “values” that our national leaders speak of today are far different from the “values” that our grandparents grew up with. So is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Every year, Gallup conducts an “annual Values and Beliefs survey”, and the survey results for 2014 have just been released. When you compare the numbers from 2001 to the numbers for this year, the difference in quite a few of the categories is quite striking. Here are a few examples…

Sex between an unmarried man and woman

2001: 53%

2014: 66%

Divorce

2001: 59%

2014: 69%

Having a baby outside of marriage

2001: 45%

2014: 58%

Sodomite or lesbian relations

2001: 40%

2014: 58%

Medical research using stem cells from human embryos

2001: 52%

2014: 65%

Pornography

2001: 30%

2014: 33%

Suicide

2001: 13%

2014: 19%

Cloning Humans

2001: 7%

2014: 13%

As a nation, we are moving much more in the “socially liberal” direction.

But does that mean that everyone is changing?

Well, when Gallup broke the numbers down by political affiliation, they found something extremely interesting.

In the 12 years Gallup has asked this overall question, Democrats have become significantly more tolerant on many issues, while independents generally show a smaller shift in the same direction and Republicans’ views have changed little. The percentage of Democrats who say an issue is morally acceptable has increased for 10 issues, including abortion, sex between an unmarried man and woman, extramarital affairs, cloning humans, divorce, cloning animals, suicide, research using stem cells from human embryos, polygamy, and sodomite and lesbian relations.

In some cases, the change among Democrats has been substantial. For example, in 2003, 52% of Democrats said having a baby outside of wedlock was morally acceptable, and 40% of Republicans and 61% of independents agreed. This year, 72% of Democrats, a 20-percentage-point increase, say it is morally acceptable. Meanwhile, Republicans have seen no change, with 40% still saying it is morally acceptable, although a higher 50% viewed it as morally acceptable last year. Independents have also not seen a change, with 60% saying having a baby out of wedlock is morally acceptable this year.

In other words, the “values gap” between the two major political parties is now larger than it has ever been.

And Gallup has previously found that there are huge differences between age groups when it comes to moral values as well.

For example, only 19 percent of Americans 55 and older consider pornography to be “morally acceptable”, but 49 percent of Americans in the 18 to 34-year-old age group do.

This is true on issue after issue, and it is an indication that Americans will continue to become more “socially liberal” as older generations of Americans die off.

But as our values change, America is becoming a much different place.

You see, the truth is that moral values have consequences. The following are just a few statistics about the current state of morality in America from one of my previous articles…

-18 percent of all women in the United States say that they have been raped at some point in their lives.

About the AuthorMichael Snyder

Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years. Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog. Michael and his wife, Meranda, believe that a great awakening is coming and are working hard to help bring renewal to America. Michael is also the author of the book The Beginning Of The End

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